Step 2

Now that you have selected a topic, it's important to build a foundation for your research. The best place to find out what you don't know is to show what you already do! That way, you can begin to form questions that will guide your research.

You will create a mind-map to help organize your early thoughts about your topic. Do not lose your mind map. Once you have completed your research, you will use it to create a bigger and better mind map when planning your report.

There are a number of things that make a mind map different from a simple web diagram. A mind-map uses color, images, font size, different types of lines, and many other things to help a person organize their thoughts and drive learning.

The various elements of a mind map are described below:

EffectiveMindMappingBig.jpg

Below is an example of a very simple mind map. Your Step 2 mind map may look very similar:


IDENTITY-MIND-MAP.jpg

As you can see, the mind map about only touches the surface level of the topic: Identity. Below is another mind map that shows a much deeper level of thinking about a different topic:

energy-audit-mindmap.jpg

Step 3
Back to Research Project Guide
Back to Research Project Home